These days patients have become far much vigilant than what they were few years ago. Patients are now taking good care of their oral health. That being said there are many others who suffer from cavities and have to undergo dental restorations with the help of dental fillings. There are different types of fillings which are being used these days and hence we take up this opportunity to talk about all of them. This is an attempt to help you out so that you can choose what best suits you.
There is one such dental filling which has been used since ages. This is the amalgam filling. This is being used since the last 150 years. The composition of amalgam filling is a mixture of metals – just as the name suggests. So ideally it contains 50 percent mercury, along with tin, copper, silver or zinc. As compared to the other types of dental fillings the advantage that amalgam has is that they are less costly, very strong and last really long. However the disadvantage is that they are silver in color and over a period of time the color diminishes. This means that when you open your mouth there will be something odd for people who are talking to you. Furthermore there was a time when amalgam fillings were deemed to be unsafe by ADA because of mercury content. However now it has been proved that the level of mercury is safe enough to be used but then it is always better to keep your options open.
Your next option for dental fillings is the composite filling. They are made out of powdered glass and acrylic resin and are far much advantageous than the amalgam fillings. The biggest advantage of composite filling is that they can be colored to match the color of teeth. This makes the teeth much more appealing and is really effective for people who always desired natural looking smiles. Composite filling is considered to be durable however not as much as the amalgam filling. This is the very reason why the life of this type of dental filling isn’t that very long and that’s why they are perfect fit for small fillings. Dentists would recommend it to patients who feel little pressure in chewing food.
Gold dental fillings are your third best option when you decide to undergo dental restoration. They last really long and are highly durable so much so that ADA has claimed they will last for as long as two decades. However you must be aware that such sort of durability won’t come in cheap. They are really expensive and you will have to spend a lot of time at the dentists’ clinic to get them fixed.
Porcelain fillings are another option for you and have the traits like the gold and composite. They are expensive and require multiple visits to the clinic. On the other hand they are fragile but look like natural teeth which helps in giving you a natural appearance.
Lastly resin or Glass Ionomer are also the option for dental fillings. There are used on the primary teeth or they also may be used to fill small areas where the decay is present. They are very delicate hence they are generally used on kids.
Let your dentist take a call on it. They will examine your teeth and after every consideration they will suggest the best dental filling which can be used. Apart from that make sure that you follow proper oral hygiene so that bacterium does not give birth to plaque. This turns out to be dangerous and leads to teeth restorations.
